• Latest
  • Trending
  • All

Fact-checking six of Kamala Harris’s campaign claims

August 21, 2024

Thierno Barry: Everton player on the video he was scared to post

October 15, 2026

Armed police arrest man on small Orkney island

October 15, 2026

VisionQuest fans to meet Marvel villain from Wales, with Cardiff accent

October 15, 2026

Omagh Bombing Inquiry: ‘Fair chance’ bomb may have been prevented, senior officer tells inquiry

October 15, 2026

Australian woman charged with lacing colleague’s curry with snail poison

October 15, 2026

Trump calls off livestream of Fort Hood attacker’s execution by firing squad

October 15, 2026

UK threatens visa bans for Eritrea over migrant return policy

October 15, 2026

At least 27 pupils and teacher killed after Pakistan school roof collapses

October 15, 2026

Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking oil refinery after Zelensky says strikes to resume

October 15, 2026

Brazil’s Congress approves shorter working week in win for Lula

October 15, 2026

Hundreds of IDF investigations into killings without public outcome, BBC Verify finds

October 15, 2026

US teenager appears in court over alleged Hindu temple shooting plot

October 15, 2026
News
  • Login
  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Worklife
  • Travel
  • Reel
  • Future
  • More
Thursday, October 15, 2026
No Result
View All Result

NEWS

3 °c
London
8 ° Wed
9 ° Thu
11 ° Fri
13 ° Sat
  • Home
  • Video
  • World
    • All
    • Africa
    • Asia
    • Australia
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East
    • US & Canada

    Australian woman charged with lacing colleague’s curry with snail poison

    Trump calls off livestream of Fort Hood attacker’s execution by firing squad

    UK threatens visa bans for Eritrea over migrant return policy

    At least 27 pupils and teacher killed after Pakistan school roof collapses

    Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking oil refinery after Zelensky says strikes to resume

    Brazil’s Congress approves shorter working week in win for Lula

    Hundreds of IDF investigations into killings without public outcome, BBC Verify finds

    US teenager appears in court over alleged Hindu temple shooting plot

    Sydney teen charged with murder of boy who was shot in face

  • UK
    • All
    • England
    • N. Ireland
    • Politics
    • Scotland
    • Wales

    Armed police arrest man on small Orkney island

    VisionQuest fans to meet Marvel villain from Wales, with Cardiff accent

    Omagh Bombing Inquiry: ‘Fair chance’ bomb may have been prevented, senior officer tells inquiry

    Burnham had two hospitality dinners with Man City chairman, deleted records show

    Sussex time capsule celebrates 100 years of Winnie-the-Pooh

    We are behind you and that will not change, PM tells Zelensky

    Swimmer Archie Goodburn thanks prime minister as brain cancer review announced

    Ji-sung Eom racist abuse: Millwall boss Alex Neil criticised for stoppage comments

    Waterford: Vigil held after murder of four family members

  • Business
    • All
    • Companies
    • Connected World
    • Economy
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Global Trade
    • Technology of Business

    Thousands of NI workers to get pay bump as Real Living Wage rises

    Netflix to shed 1,000 jobs in steepest cuts since 2022

    US inflation rises more than expected – here’s what is happening with prices

    Shropshire heating oil users face tough choices as prices rise

    Poundland in rescue talks as owners seek buyer

    Three things we’ve learnt about the UK economy from the IMF

    Cost-of-living struggles inspire new supermarket in Newcastle-under-Lyme

    Lego fraudster among last year’s most high-profile insurance scammers

    Healey faces £35bn Budget challenge to meet spending pledges, says think tank

  • Tech
  • Entertainment & Arts

    Meghan hits red carpet at Power of Women in Hollywood

    Margot Robbie unable to speak at Saltburn premiere

    Barbra Streisand: Siri can now pronounce my name

    Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel inspires cinema’s look

    Taylor Swift/ Travis Kelce romance reaches White House

    The Killers booed at Georgia concert after inviting Russian fan on stage

    Watch: Memorable moments from Parkinson's star-studded show

    Tom Jones: Neighbour surprised to find singer in flat below

    Black Country Folk Festival showcases local musicians

    Watch: Australians set new world record with Tina Turner dance

  • Science
  • Health
  • In Pictures
  • Reality Check
  • Have your say
  • More
    • Newsbeat
    • Long Reads

NEWS

No Result
View All Result
Home Reality Check

Fact-checking six of Kamala Harris’s campaign claims

August 21, 2024
in Reality Check
12 min read
251 3
0
494
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter


Getty Images Harris at a rally in Arizona Getty Images

Kamala Harris has been holding rallies across the US as she campaigns against Donald Trump, and will appear in Milwaukee on Tuesday ahead of her headline speech at the Democratic National Convention later in the week.

She has made a series of claims contrasting their records on the economy, healthcare, abortion and immigration.

BBC Verify has been examining them.

Is Trump planning to cut Social Security and Medicare?

CLAIM: “Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare.”

VERDICT: This is misleading. In this campaign, Trump has said repeatedly he would not do this, although he has suggested he would in the past.

Social Security provides a source of income when you retire or if you cannot work due to a disability.

Medicare is a US government programme which provides healthcare coverage for millions of Americans who are retired or disabled.

“I will not cut 1 cent from Social Security or Medicare,” Trump said at a rally on 5 August.

And in his 20 point policy platform, one of the pledges is: “Fight for and protect Social Security and Medicare with no cuts.”

However, during his time as president Trump proposed several budgets which would have cut elements of Medicare, such as eliminating the programme advising recipients how to sign up for benefits. None of these budget proposals was enacted.

He also has made comments about cutting Social Security in the past.

In an interview in March this year, on entitlement programs such as Social Security Trump said: “There’s a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.”

However, he later clarified the comments, saying: “I will never do anything that will hurt or jeopardise Social Security or Medicare.”

Is inflation down?

CLAIM: “Inflation is down under 3%.”

VERDICT: That figure is correct but some context is needed here.

Inflation, which is the increase in the price of something over time, is down from a peak of 9.1% under the Biden administration and it is higher than when Mr Trump left office.

US inflation

When President Biden took office in January 2021, inflation was 1.4% but it rose significantly during the first two years of his administration.

This trend is comparable with many Western countries which saw high inflation in 2021 and 2022, as global supply chain issues as a consequence of Covid and the war in Ukraine contributed to rising prices.

While the Biden administration had limited control over these external factors, some economists say that their 2021 American Rescue Plan, worth $1.9tn (£1.5tn), also contributed to rising prices.

How many jobs has the Biden administration created?

CLAIM: “We have created 16 million new jobs.”

VERDICT: That is roughly correct. 15.8 million jobs have been added under the Biden administration, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

However, when the Biden government entered the White House in January 2021, the US was recovering from the Covid pandemic, which crippled the economy and during which more than 20 million jobs were lost.

US jobs

“Many of the jobs would have come back if Trump had won in 2020 – but the American Rescue Plan played a major role in the speed and aggressiveness of the labour market recovery,” says Professor Mark Strain, an economist at Georgetown University.

Since President Biden came into office, job growth has been strong, surpassing the pre-pandemic levels seen under Trump.

However, weaker than expected job growth in July led to fears of a sudden downturn in the US economy and stock markets were hit as a result, but they have since stabilised.

Did Trump drive the US economy into the ground?

CLAIM: “He froze in the face of the COVID crisis. He drove our economy into the ground.”

VERDICT: The US economy did take a big hit during the pandemic, like most countries, but it also bounced back under Trump.

US economic growth

You can see from the graph above that there was a dramatic collapse in economic growth in the US during the Covid pandemic.

However following the pandemic, the US economy bounced back under Trump.

He implemented a series of measures to help it recover, including financial assistance for small businesses.

During Trump’s four years in office (Jan 2017- Jan 2021), the average annual growth rate of the US economy was 2.3%.

Under the Biden administration, this figure has been 2.2% – so almost the same.

Did Trump tank the immigration deal?

CLAIM: “We had a chance to pass the toughest bipartisan border security bill in decades but Donald Trump tanked the deal.”

VERDICT: Trump was publicly against the Biden administration’s immigration bill, but voting on it was up to Congress.

The immigration bill aimed to tighten asylum standards, increase spending on Border Patrol, and allow for the automatic closure of the southern border to illegal crossings if a certain daily threshold was reached.

It failed to pass a vote in February with the majority of lawmakers in the US Senate opposing it.

Trump did not have a vote as he was not an elected official at the time, but he did call for his Republican allies to oppose it.

Getty Images US-Mexico borderGetty Images

Illegal immigration into the US across the southern border is a key issue in the presidential campaign

Trump also took credit when the bill failed, saying it was “horrendous” as he thought it was not tough enough on immigration.

At a Fox News event in February 2024, he said he was against the deal as passing it would have “made it much better for the opposing side”.

The bill was blocked in the Senate for a second time in May.

Did Trump ban abortions?

CLAIM: “In more than 20 states, there is a Trump abortion ban, many with no exceptions, even for rape and incest… be sure if he were to win, he would sign a national abortion ban”

VERDICT: Bans were enacted by states after Trump left office but, as president, he appointed three justices to the Supreme Court who voted to overturn Roe v Wade. Trump has said he would not sign a national abortion ban.

Roe v. Wade protected the federal Constitutional right to abortion for nearly 50 years until it was overturned in June 2022.

As a result, 22 states currently ban abortion or restrict the procedure to earlier in pregnancy than was set by Roe v. Wade. In 14 of those states, abortion is banned in almost all circumstances with 10 not even making an exception for rape or incest.

During his campaign, he has declined to back a national abortion ban and said he believes the issue should be left to individual states.

Additional reporting by Gerry Georgieva.

BBC Verify logo



Source link

Tags: campaignclaimsFactcheckingHarrissKamala

Related Posts

Watch: Can the Fort Hood shooter’s execution be livestreamed?

October 14, 2026
0

The US Department of Defense says they plan to livestream the execution by firing squad of Nidal Hasan, who...

Is Zelensky right to say data centre strikes have taken down Russian bots?

October 13, 2026
0

Claims that Ukrainian strikes on Russian data centres reduced Kremlin-linked bot networks have spread widely online, but experts have...

Which war is having the biggest impact on diesel prices – Iran or Ukraine?

October 12, 2026
0

As well as being a major exporter of crude oil, the Middle East is also a significant global hub...

  • Lee McGregor: Scot seeks world title in 2025 & Nathaniel Collins bout

    680 shares
    Share 272 Tweet 170
  • Belgian footballer arrested in cocaine investigation

    535 shares
    Share 214 Tweet 134
  • Next to raise prices to help pay for rising wage costs

    534 shares
    Share 214 Tweet 134
  • South Wales Police officers injured, one arrested

    526 shares
    Share 210 Tweet 132
  • ‘It stirred the people to breathless wonder and scalding abuse’: The tumultuous history of the Sydney Opera House

    521 shares
    Share 208 Tweet 130
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest

Lee McGregor: Scot seeks world title in 2025 & Nathaniel Collins bout

January 16, 2025

Belgian footballer arrested in cocaine investigation

January 27, 2025

Next to raise prices to help pay for rising wage costs

January 7, 2025

World Cup 2022: TikTok brings football fever to millions of fans

0

UK economy will get worse before it gets better, warns chancellor

0

One of Central America’s most active volcanoes erupts again

0

Thierno Barry: Everton player on the video he was scared to post

October 15, 2026

Armed police arrest man on small Orkney island

October 15, 2026

VisionQuest fans to meet Marvel villain from Wales, with Cardiff accent

October 15, 2026

Categories

Newsbeat

Thierno Barry: Everton player on the video he was scared to post

October 15, 2026
0

Last season he made 41 appearances and scored just eight goals. This season he's already scored six. "People can...

Read more

Armed police arrest man on small Orkney island

October 15, 2026
News

© 2023 GODJ - NEWS CORP - news.godj.com.

Explore NEWS.GODJ.COM

  • Home
  • News
  • Sports
  • Worklife
  • Travel
  • Reel
  • Future
  • More

Follow Us

  • Home Main
  • Video
  • World
  • Top News
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Tech
  • UK
  • In Pictures
  • Health
  • Reality Check
  • Science
  • Entertainment & Arts
  • Login

© 2023 GODJ - NEWS CORP - news.godj.com.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.